Editorial: PG&E’s shameless request for a rate increase

Protesters against PG&E are demanding that the utility be held responsible for igniting this year’s Camp Fire. On Thursday, PG&E asked regulators for permission to raise $2 billion in new revenue from ratepayers.

Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

We’ll hand it to PG&E: The utility certainly isn’t afraid to risk the wrath of public opinion.

It’s looking more and more likely that the utility bears some responsibility for the devastating Camp Fire, which leveled Paradise in Butte County, and led to the deaths of 86 people. It’s already been found responsible for multiple 2017 fatal fires.

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“This proposal supports PG&E’s commitment to deliver safe, reliable and clean energy to our customers and communities, while making our network more resilient to the challenges of extreme weather driven by climate change,” PG&E spokeswoman Kristi Jourdan said in a statement. “We are committed to keeping customer rates and bills as low as possible.”

As we’ve argued in the past, it would make more sense for regulators and the state Legislature to restructure PG&E as a company rather than to keep granting it endless expensive bailouts. Over the past decade, it has proved itself to be either unwilling or unable to adequately execute its responsibilities to both the public and its ratepayers.